#2697 one week out

 

This time next week, MT and I will be winging our way across the Atlantic. In fact, because of the magic of time zones,  10pm mountain time is 6am in southern Europe, and we will be just a couple of hours from Paris. We have a brief layover there before we head on to Barcelona.

In today's travel prep adventures, the new boots I ordered in a larger size arrived and they still won't work. They are too narrow and although today's boots were a little better, they still smushed the bunion. There's no way I could walk for even an hour in those boots, sadly. They were pretty cute. I will return them, along with the others, and get some "fashion sneakers". It will be fine. Above all things, I need my feet to be happy.

I went through my clothes and figured out what I'm taking in the 5-4-3-2-1 scheme. I have five tops, two pants and two dresses (that's my four). I  will have three pairs of shoes when I get the fashion sneakers. There are two layering pieces, a long cardigan and a denim jacket, both of which go with everything. I suppose the "one" thing will be my raincoat. I will also have a travel outfit. I'll take at least one scarf, maybe two. I wonder if, at the last minute, I will chicken out and add a couple more things. It could happen. 

What I learned today is that traveling in the time of Covid is no joke. Each country has it's own requirements for entry and moving around. Spain has an app, similar to Costa Rica. We'll fill out all the fields and Spain will send us a QR code that we will show to the authorities upon arrival. Italy also has a form, plus there seems to be a form for tracing purposes that also works in France. In addition, we will have to get a green pass in order to see the sites in Italy. We will have to take a Covid test in Barcelona before we can board the ship. We'll have to take a Covid test in Rome before we can come back to the U.S. Fortunately, our hotels in those cities will help us get to a lab where we can be tested and get the results back quickly. 

Tomorrow I'll go to the bank to pick up the euros I ordered yesterday. I thought I would have to go to one of the big banks downtown to buy euros, but I was able to go to the branch where I normally do my business and order them. I felt comfortable doing that, and the teller I usually work with called me today to let me know the money was there. Fast!

Another thing I did today was put a hold on our mail delivery. I had to call the pharmacy, too, because there is one of my medications that I will run out of next Saturday, so I need to get it early. Hopefully the pharmacy will have that prescription ready for me in the next day or two. 

I'm ticking off some to-do items every day to avoid feeling too overwhelmed. I suffer a bit from anxiety. Maybe that's why I am such a list-maker. When I get anxious, I don't think clearly and the lists help me focus on what needs to be handled. 

One other thing...I am not a huge fan of the Princess Medallion app. I find it a little clunky and it isn't something that is just "nice to have". It's how you board the ship. It's how you schedule your meals. It's how you watch movies on board and a whole bunch of other stuff. The I spoke to in Princess customer service told me on Monday that the app would work better on the ship. Fat lot of good that does me now, when I actually have to put information in the app so I can get on the ship! 

It will all be okay, lil Sandy.